Chapter 281: 281: I'm Waiting For The Apocalypse To Appear

Crimson Snow Sect, Salted Fish Mountain Peak. The night was peaceful, shrouded in fog. A gentle shower of rain fell from the dark sky, adding a pleasant hum to the otherwise silent world. Those who were awake could hear the rain, smell the earth, and enjoy the cooling air.

But those who were sound asleep, like Han Xuhan, weren't so lucky.

Of course, at the moment, Han Xuhan didn't consider himself out of luck. Not at all. In fact, he was in a mood for celebration!

At this moment, he wasn't technically asleep. A part of his consciousness had traveled into the Artificial Macrocosm of Laws for training while his physical body rested, something that he had been diligently doing for months now.

Qian Yun had also appeared dutifully, teaching him the fundamentals of law cultivation. These days, he was a lot more reasonable and patient with Han Xuhan, all because of one development.

In this decrepit corner of the Artificial Macrocosm of Laws, new seedlings were emerging like saplings in the wake of rainfall. Qian Yun could sense dozens of new cultivators doing their best day and night to become an Alphabet Acolyte!

As the 'manager' who held the key to access this artificial realm from the ruins of the Holy Land, Qian Yun's perception reached far and wide across the planet. He knew that aside from the young cultivators who had gotten stuck inside the Holy Land with him, there had been no practitioners of the orthodox legalist paths on this planet.

Now, all of a sudden, new spawn points were lighting up around Han Xuhan's spawn point, all of them exuding the same aura—the aura of Force-type laws.

Qian Yun had heard from Han Xuhan that he was trying to revive the legacy of law cultivation using a manual covering Force type law arts. Back then, he hadn't truly believed that this guy would do something so selfless and sincere!

He had been wrong! He had made a grave error, doubting Brother Xuhan's benevolent heart!

If the legalist path could truly revive from the ashes, rising from the outer court of the Crimson Snow Sect...

It'd be a favor Qian Yun couldn't repay in one lifetime.

With this sentiment overwhelming his heart, Qian Yun sent a message to Han Xuhan as the scheduled training session neared its end.

"I just remembered that a few days back, you requested for some orthodox and complete manuals of the legalist paths, saying that you were going to spread them among your fellow disciples. Does that offer still stand?"

Han Xuhan responded with delight, "Of course it does! Are you saying you agree to my offer?"

"If you can guarantee quick results, I think it could benefit us both. In the next exchange of resources, I'll send over a box of books and cultivation manuals. Use them cautiously; don't alarm your seniors or Sect Elders."

"Don't worry about that. My seniors are about to leave the sect for good. Their farewell ceremony has already been held. And the Elders know better than to poke their noses into my business. With the Sect Master backing me, what can they do?"

Qian Yun wasn't quite clear on the situation inside the Crimson Snow Sect. But he still found it rather doubtful that powerful old Elders of a sect could be treated like flies and bugs, that too by a rookie cultivator with such trashy potential.

Still, he couldn't deny that whatever Han Xuhan promised to do, he'd get it done anyhow. With a revival of the legalist path on the horizon, why not take a gamble?

Hence, that night's training session concluded with both parties looking forward to an exciting, glorious future.

After exiting the artificial macrocosm, Han Xuhan habitually scanned his foundation tower for anomalies. He had gotten used to discovering outlandish developments inside this place. Not even the most experienced teachers in the sect could explain some of them.

A wide hall at the center, two smaller chambers attached to its right and left side, a thick blue jade pillar in each of those chambers supporting the modified structure, and a massive dome upon the center of the roof.

The wide hall was, again, divided into two areas. One represented the foundation of the Skeleton Monarch Mystic Art, the other represented the False Remembrance Illusion Art.

"Mm, everything looks fine. But why do I feel a little disappointed? Am I getting addicted to the thrill of inexplicable spiritual mutations?"

Finding this thought rather dangerous, Han Xuhan's consciousness quickly returned to the real world.

Sunrise was still a couple of hours away. Zhanxian and Tun Shi Tian were cultivating outside his bedroom. Watching their figures in the dim lamplight, Han Xuhan didn't know whether to be jealous that he couldn't cultivate ceaselessly like them, or feel happy that he didn't have to...

Lying in bed, he checked his system. Currently, he had 220 Survival Points, one unused Silver Token, and three active quests on the quest log.

Quest: [ Xuanyuan Zhou's Pathfinder ] had reached 38% progress.

Quest: [ Xiao Wu's Secret ] had gotten a huge boost recently, reaching 60%. But he was a little confused about it now. He already knew the secret. What else did he need to do to make the progress bar hit 100%?

Quest: [ Qian Yun's hunger- Act: I ] was now standing at 90%. Qian Yun must have been really happy to see that Han Xuhan's fellow disciples were seriously cultivating the path of laws.

He couldn't help but wonder, if Act- I was close to completion, what would Act- II be like?

Of course, even in the case of such chain quests, the next act wouldn't necessarily follow after the first one was completed, just like in the case of the Quest: [ First Trigger Of The Apocalypse ].

Back when Han Xuhan had completed it, it left with a warning because the threat hadn't been fully neutralized. It claimed that it could return one day in a different form. But he had yet to see any signs of its reappearance.

"Now that I think about it, what exactly could this apocalypse be? How is it related to Mu Ran?"

Right then, a tremor passed through the mountains. Han Xuhan jumped out of his bed, worried that his shabby hut would fall apart from the earthquake. Zhanxian and Tun Shi Tian also stopped their cultivation midway, holding on to the nearest furniture for support.

However, the tremors didn't cease. Wave after wave, they only grew stronger!

"What the hell is happening?! Did I jinx it? Is the apocalypse here already?! Good heavens!"

Panicking, Han Xuhan stumbled out of his hut, lost his balance and fell on all fours on the muddy, rain-soaked ground. Wincing at the sudden cold shower, he looked up and froze like a statue.

The sky above the Crimson Snow Sect's territory was no longer visible. But the culprit this time was not the poisonous fog.

A draconic face hung there, like a monstrous serpent from myths, capable of swallowing mountains and seas.

Its vertical pupils were as tall as the highest towers of the Crimson Snow Sect. The scales on its face were like ancient ashen rocks, each large enough to crush a mountain peak. Its body seemed to stretch infinitely, encircling the mountains at the periphery of the sect.

And the earthquake itself was actually caused by its tail, which was slowly beating the ground like a patient predator, waiting for its prey to appear.